Pompeii: Rebirth of Italy’s Dead City That Nearly Died Again

Pompeii: Rebirth of Italy’s Dead City That Nearly Died Again

The ancient Italian city of Pompeii historically has had its fair share of ups and downs.

Back in 79 A.D., a volcano erupted and turned the lively city into a wasteland in just a few hours. The destructive event buried the city and its people in volcanic¹ ash.

Then in this century, the excavated³ Roman city seemed close to a second death. This time not by a volcano, but by years of inattention and mismanagement of the heavily visited ruins.

In 2010, a building where ancient Roman soldiers had trained collapsed⁴. Because of this, Pompeii nearly lost its place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an honor it received in 1997.

But these days, Pompeii is beginning to experience a rebirth.

A restoration project to prevent more collapses⁵ includes new excavations⁷. The work has led to new discoveries about the everyday lives of the ancient people of Pompeii.

The restoration is also helping⁸ to limit the effects of a new threat: climate change. Climate extremes — including increasingly intense rainfall and periods of extreme heat — could threaten Pompeii.

The new director of the ruins, archaeologist Gabriel Zuchtriegel, is using the latest computer technology to help restore Pompeii. He compares the ancient city's fast destruction, which began in the 1970s, to "an airplane going down to the ground and really risking breaking" apart.

"Some conditions are changing and we can already measure this," Zuchtriegel told The Associated Press.

The Great Pompeii Project was a $120 million restoration effort that ended in 2016. It helped keep the ruins from further harm. Zuchtriegel said, "It was all spent and spent well."

However, future problems are expected to develop for the ruins, which were first excavated 250 years ago. The ruins at Pompeii were first discovered in the 16th century, Encyclopedia⁹ Britannica says on its website.

Zuchtriegel said that moving forward, the use of new technology will be critical to help fight the ancient city's "battle against time."

AI to the rescue

The treasures of Pompeii include numerous pieces of art found on the floors and walls. Depending on humans alone to search for signs of climate-caused damage would be nearly impossible. So artificial intelligence (AI) tools and drones will help collect and process data and images in real time.

Since last year, AI and robots are doing what otherwise would be impossible jobs — such as putting wall paintings that have collapsed into very small pieces back together. Among the goals is to rebuild the painted ceiling of the House of the Painters at Work. It was destroyed by Allied¹⁰ bombing during World War II.

Robots will also help repair damage to collapsed structures in a building believed to have been used by Roman soldiers.

Seventeen of Pompeii's 66 hectares remain unexcavated. They are still buried deep under lava¹¹ stone. There is a long-running debate over whether they should stay buried.

At the start of the 19th century, Zuchtriegel said, the idea was to "excavate² all of Pompeii." But in the years leading up to the Great Pompeii Project, people were not quick to excavate. Zuchtriegel said the thinking was "because we have so many problems we won't excavate anymore."

The head archaeologist before him, Massimo Osanna, took a different approach to the restoration. Osanna targeted excavation⁶ in places that needed to be fixed¹² and strengthened. This aimed to prevent further collapses.

"But it was a different kind of excavation. It was part of a larger approach where we have the combination of protection, research, and accessibility," Zuchtriegel said.

Helping the community too

Today, the goals of the Pompeii park go further than protecting ruins. The nearby towns have suffered from organized crime and high youth unemployment. This has caused many young people to leave.

So the archaeological park is bringing together students from the area's wealthy institutions and students from working class neighborhoods. They will perform together at Pompeii's Great Theater.

"We ... can try to contribute to a change," Zuchtriegel said.

There are also plans to create public walking grounds in an unexcavated part of Pompeii. That part of the ruins, until recently, had been used as an illegal waste dump and even a marijuana farm.

Words in This Story

erupt – v. to send out lava, rocks, and ash in a sudden explosion

excavate – v. to dig out and remove

restore – v. to bring back to or put back into a former or original state : restoration – n. an act of returning something to its original condition : the result of having been returned to the original condition

artificial intelligence – n. a branch of computer science dealing¹³ with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers

drone – n. an uncrewed aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers

lava – n. melted rock coming from a volcano or after it has cooled and hardened

accessibility – adj. able to be used or obtained

contribute – v. to give along with others

1 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

2 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

3 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

6 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

7 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

11 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。